Football Games
by Hello Sunshine
Summary: Senior year and the final football game of the season - what could it possibly bring? Teenage chaos of course!
1. College Fears

_A/N: Hey everyone! I have to say first that I am totally in love with the Ralphoebe bandwagon. They are too cute! This was intended to be several parts, but I feel like I have lost inspiration to continue it, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know. Read and Review, just to be kind!_

_I do not own the Magic School Bus or the gang. I merely wish my school was as cool as theirs. That's all. Enjoy_!

Phoebe sighed and pulled her arms tighter around herself. She looked down on the empty football field, strewn with confetti and ribbons and the memories of the game. She was alone in the bleachers, the cold metal biting into her thighs and empty cups rolling around at her feet.

"He shoots….He scores…" she whispered quietly into the night air, the faint sounds from the party in the parking lot drifting back to her. A faint chuckle jolted her from her trance and she stared wide eyed around the supposedly empty bleachers.

"Wrong sport Pheebs. Sorry to burst your bubble" Ralphie slowly emerged from the shadows, a lazy grin twisted around his lips, his brown eyes sparkling with mirth. Pheobe grinned back shyly as Ralphie took a seat next to her on the bleacher, his jean clad thigh brushing hers.

The years had been kind to Ralphie. His old baby fat had filled out his 6 foot frame nicely, creating a body that was not overly thin and not overly muscled. His eyes were still round and brown, but he had a defined jaw and when he smiled, his cheeks revealed dimples that had not been noticeable before.

He had taken up many sports upon his induction into high school: soccer, baseball, and football, among others. Tonight his letterman jacket was representing Walkerville's high school football team, which had just won the State championships. His passion for sports has not only got him onto several teams but also increased his confidence, which made Ralphie far less cowardly then he used to be (although he was still a notoriously slow mover when it came to girls).

The party in the parking lot was raging with underage drinkers and garbage cans of fire. Loud music was playing from one of the cars, and judging by the Spanish beat, Phoebe was willing to bet money that a certain Ramone had opened up the doors on his blue Camero.

"Wha'cha doing sitting around here Phoebe? Trying to absorb as many football tactics as possible before next year? Think you're going to trump us all next year and come out to play on the college football team? Touchdown Terese. Has a nice ring to it" She laughed quietly into her hand and nudged Ralphie's side with her elbow. He grinned and pulled her hand away from her face.

"Ah, don't hide behind your hand Touchdown, you've got such a pretty smile" Phoebe blushed and let Ralphie pull her hand down between them. She let it hang awkwardly between them after he let it go, not quite sure what she was supposed to do with it. She automatically brought it up and wrapped it around the opposite forearm.

"What are you doing here Ralphie? I thought you were supposed to be over there beer bonging and partying with the rest of the football team….and the cheerleaders." She couldn't help but add the last part without sounding slightly bitter.

Cheerleaders were the epitome of everything that she was not. Short and blonde to her tall, auburn frame. Fit where she was just thin and more importantly popular where she was not.

She was Phoebe, DA's study partner, or Carlos' shy friend that was pretty alright at soccer, in case there was a pick up game. She was Wanda's dress-up doll (which was really not as fun as it sounded) or Keesha's sounding board. Tim's sketching model, or his fervent admirer. Ralphie's number-one cheering fan and Arnold's patient listener.

High school had passed as a blur of make ups, break ups and discovery. Drinking, drugs, and the opposite sex. As a group, Ms. Frizzle's old third grade class had collectively been through it all.

"Ah, I was over there, for a little while, but Floosie was starting to get on my nerves, and I had to get away. But you still haven't answered my question Phoebe Terese. What exactly are you doing out here? I find it hard to believe that it's for the view, seeing as how there isn't much of one" He grinned lopsidedly at her and watched her from the corner of his eye.

"Oh…I just…needed a little but of air, you know, and the air is really clear and fresh out here, have you ever noticed? I thought it was because of the winds that are blowing in from the north, they always say that it helps clarity of thought and….uh….never mind" Ralphie raised an eyebrow and just shook his head at the typical Phoebe answer.

"Thinking about anything in particular Pheebs? Or just anxious over life in general?" Phoebe tilted her head back and giggled.

"I think anxiety's more Arnold's thing then mine really." Ralphie laughed loudly, startling Phoebe who jumped slightly.

"Remember that time when Ms. Frizzle brought us on that field trip…" Phoebe raised an eyebrow (something that Wanda had insisted she learn) and giggled again (what was with the giggling?? She wasn't Floosie or anything!).

"Which field trip? You're going to have to be specific Tennelli!" Ralphie grinned back and shrugged, leaning his elbows back on the bench behind them.

"Ah, I don't know Phoebe, I can't decide which one I should talk about. There's too much Arnold neuroticism and abnormality to really capture in just one memory." Phoebe grinned back and nodded, turning to face the field once again.

She shivered in her seat, and Ralphie was quick to shed his jacket and throw it over her shoulders. It swamped her, but he couldn't help but think that she looked pretty cute decked out in her jean shorts, red t-shirt and his white and red letterman jacket. She quietly murmured her thanks, her pale, slightly freckled face blushing.

"Red looks good on you" he murmured to her quietly, to which she flushed anew.

"You played well tonight, by the way" Phoebe answered just as quietly and Ralphie grinned to himself at the obvious avoidance of what he had said.

"Thanks. Everyone played really well tonight. We really deserved this game" Phoebe nodded in accordance, remembering how many times Ralphie had been stuck after school at practice, while they had all been out and about.

They sat in silence for a while, Phoebe staring over the field and Ralphie sneaking subtle glances at his elementary school friend from the corner of his eye.

"Ralphie-" Phoebe started and then stopped, flushing and shaking her head slowly.

"Phoebe Terese. How long have I known you?" Phoebe looked over at Ralphie in shock, green eyes wide with surprise.

"Um….almost…10 years?" Phoebe asked slowly, looking rather confused at Ralphie's serious face.

"Yes. And I think I should know by now what's bothering you. No, Carlos will not get injured during a keg stand attempt, DA and Keesha will make plenty sure of that. Yes, I made sure Tim and Arnold were both having a good time before I left. Tim has his hands full with Janet of all people and Arnold's….rather busy with Wanda at the moment" Ralphie grinned like a shark, white teeth flashing in the dark, and Phoebe found herself blushing at the insinuation.

"DA's books are currently MIA thanks to Carlos and myself, and Keesha is having a good time. Babysitting Carlos is something she rather enjoys doing, I think. Wanda came pantiless tonight, in order to avoid her underwear hanging up the flag pole again, but just in case, all of her clothes have 'Florrie' written on the tag. Floosie won't know what hit her" Phoebe laughed out loud at that, and Ralphie quickly indulged her in his impish grin.

"No, I did not hurt myself during the game, and I am not disappointed that I didn't get scouted. Well, maybe a little, but I'm not too bothered by it" He added hastily at her look of incredulity.

"Yes, Floosie is well on her way to being trashed, which we both know can lead to some pretty amusing videos, and, thanks to the few beer she has consumed, Janet is relaxed enough to love even you. Trust me. She loves everyone right now" Phoebe rolled her eyes, and gave Ralphie a slightly exasperated look to which he grinned again.

Suddenly serious, Ralphie grabbed her and forced Phoebe to look at him, using his hands to guide her chin to face him. His large, sports calloused hands cradled her delicate face and he realized for the first time, just how fragile and beautiful Phoebe looked in the moonlight.

"And no, Phoebe, college is not knocking on our front doors just yet. We still have time to be kids and enjoy each others constant company inside the corridors of Walkerville high school. And no Terese, we will not forget you, regardless if we all go to separate colleges, which may or may not happen. We are friends, and have been for a decade. Just because our Magic School Bus days are coming to a close, doesn't mean the fun has to stop. College will be fun, and so will the years after college" Phoebe blushed intensely but kept her piercing green gaze on Ralphie.

"You don't need to worry so much about the future Phoebe. It's something you can't change or slow down, whether you're ready for it or not. We'll be here, if you need us. All you have to do is ask. I will be there for you Phoebe. Just stop being afraid of what will be, and appreciate what is" Ralphie finished softly, still holding her face in between his hands. Phoebe smiled genuinely this time and lowered her gaze only slightly, peering up at Ralphie from between her long lashes.

"Who knew Mr. Football had such encouraging words to say. And here we were thinking you could only throw a football" she teased lightly but reached out and squeezed his knee lightly to let him know that she had appreciated his words. He grinned back, feeling slightly dazed and slowly let go of her face, his fingertips trailing their way around her cheek and down her jaw line. She flushed under his touch, his finger leaving a trail of liquid fire under her skin and she trembled from the intensity in his gaze.

"I think there are a lot of things about me that would surprise you Pheebs" Ralphie said, his voice, Phoebe noticed, much lower then usual. She shuddered and sucked in a quick breath that made Ralphie grin his lazy, impish grin, but the tell-tale blush stained his cheeks as well, indicating that he wasn't as unaffected as he appeared. They stayed in that position for a long time, neither moving and neither saying anything, their breath coming out shallowly between them.

"I think…maybe we should go back?" Phoebe questioned quietly (and rather breathlessly, much to her chagrin). Ralphie jerked back quickly and dropped his hands beside himself, tugging nervously on his evergreen t-shirt.

"Right, right, you're right." He sucked in a deep breath to compose himself and stood quickly. He dropped his arm and grinned down at her with a wink.

"Coming my fair lady?" She giggled and took his arm, the sleeves of his letterman jacket falling just above her fingertips. He tucked her into his side and threw his arm around her slim form. She smiled up at him and snuggled into the warm and slightly musky scent that was Ralphie Tennelli.

They walked slowly away from the bleachers and towards the orange glow of the party. Judging from the T-Pain remix that was being played, Carlos' Spanish beats had been replaced.

They met the fringe of the party, Ralphie moving to walk in front of Phoebe and taking her hand to help her trail after him through the crowd.

As they rounded the corner, Phoebe noticed their friends sitting around Carlos' car, laughing and talking. Carlos stood in the middle of the group, both hands up in the air gesturing wildly, swaying slightly on the spot. DA and Keesha were leaning against the hood with disapproval on their faces, but their true amusement shining through their tiny smirks (although both looked ready to jump up and catch Carlos at any second, should he fall over).

Tim was leaning against the right side of the car, head turned to look at Carlos, but his eyes were trained on the red headed figure in front of him who was laughing uproariously and had both hands on his chest.

Wanda and Arnold were sitting beside DA looking fairly contented, with Wanda's hair looking little better then a bird's nest and Arnold's looking even worse. Phoebe blushed for them as Wanda slyly grinned up at Arnold when she thought no one was looking and he shyly grinned back.

Ralphie lifted his hand high in greeting as they neared and DA and Keesha both lifted their heads in acknowledgment, smiles flitting across their faces. Carlos turned around quickly and high fived Ralphie before winking at Pheobe, which caused her to blush anew, and Ralphie to pull her closer to him, shooting a disapproving (and slightly jealous) look at Carlos.

Tim and Arnold waved from their seats and Janet and Wanda giggled and winked back at them.

Phoebe and Ralphie joined the group, as Ralphie leaned against the left side of the car, and engaged in some discussion with Wanda and Arnold, pulling an uncertain Phoebe to him, so that she settled herself comfortably against his broad chest. Phoebe blushed and smiled up at him before sighing contentedly.

If this was appreciating what is, then Phoebe Terese wasn't going to be one to argue. Life and college had to happen. And if they had been friends for this long already, they defiantly wouldn't give each other up without a fight. At least Phoebe knew she wouldn't.

The Magic School Bus days were coming to a close, but that didn't mean that the adventure stopped here. They had years more of adventure to experience together. And Ralphie would be there for her; Phoebe certainly thought that that was a comforting thought (and then proceeded to blush intensely). Looking around at all of her long-time friends, Phoebe Terese knew that she was uncertain about where life would lead them, and that was okay. Let life and relationships come: she was ready (or at least she thought she was, should whatever was happening with Ralphie actually happen).

One thing was for certain however….she had never been to a party like this at her old school!


	2. Swaggerific

_A/N: I wasn't planning on a second chapter to this. Well technically I was, since I started this ages ago but never got past the first paragraph. I was hit with sudden inspiration for this story and hence, chapter two. I am planning on a few other chapters, since I have a whole lotta time on my hands it shouldn't be a problem. We'll see how it goes. I'm working on the Arnold and Wanda chapter next. Should be fun. _

_I don't own the Magic School Bus kids or the song Swaggerific by Verbz. I just love it and I think it suits Janet perfectly._

_Be kind and read and review!_

Tim quickly glanced at the time on his cell phone, gleaming up at him, swore and proceeded to shove his sketch book hastily into his bag.

He paused and gave the sturdy heron one last longing glance from the side of the marsh before turning and running back to the road. Taking another glance at his cell, Tim realized that he would not be fortunate enough to make it back to school in time for the beginning of the football game.

Last game of their last year. It had seemed to take forever to come, but Tim couldn't be more thankful at its arrival. He felt a little too old to be going back to high school functions again: especially after such a hectic, crazy and amazingly fun summer.

He had pursued his love of drawing from elementary school throughout high school and this past summer had not only taken several highly intensive drawing classes, but gotten the opportunity to teach a few at a summer camp. The kids had been great and he had made enough money to last him the rest of the school year comfortably.

Not only that, but his friends and himself had gone on an end of summer, four day long camping trip that had been the biggest blast ever! They regularly went on camping trips during the summer, but this year they had been allowed to go parent-less (although it had taken much convincing for Mrs. Perlstein to allow her little boy to go anywhere alone).

Unfortunately, Arnold had been forced to bring his slightly obnoxious, suddenly gorgeous cousin Janet. And Tim had thought he had never seen anything as stunning as a slightly tipsy Janet sitting beside the fire, embers reflecting the same glorious colour of her long curls and putting a different sort of gleam in her big, blue eyes. He had been smitten ever since, much to his chagrin. He didn't bother telling any of his friends about it, knowing that it wouldn't go over especially well with any of them.

Arnold would be disgusted because it was his cousin and believe it or not, he had grown rather protective of her as they aged (although Janet did not need taking care of in any way, shape or form). Carlos, DA, Wanda and Keesha would scoff, remembering the obnoxious know-it-all from elementary school. Phoebe was simply terrified of the tough Janet and Tim knew Ralphie didn't take kindly to anyone being purposely mean to Phoebe (although he would never admit it). So Tim kept his musings (and his drawings) to himself.

Walking quickly down the side of the road, Tim prayed that Phoebe saved him a seat but was rather certain that she would be too busy watching a certain quarterback to remember that Tim was not yet there. And Phoebe had been more distant then usual lately, meaning that Tim was pretty sure he would not have a seat. Although, he thought to himself amusedly, Wanda would surely offer him a seat in her lap. He wasn't one to purposely tick off Arnold though (since he was smitten with his cousin, he figured he would get in on the family's good side) and quickened his pace, deciding to put his faith in Phoebe.

And that was when a black Mustang sped by him before coming to a screeching halt just 10 feet in front of him. He slowed hesitantly before coming up to the tinted window, just as it started rolling down. And Tim was met with the gorgeous face of one Janet Perlstein. Red curls bouncing around her round face, she had opted for her round, Chanel glasses that day, hiding her blue eyes and long, mascara laden eye lashes. She was smirking at him and he saw a flash of pearly whites before feeling the bottom of his stomach drop out slightly.

"What's up Matthews?" She addressed him lifting a perfectly manicured hand off the steering wheel in greeting.

"Janet" he nodded at her, unsure of why she had stopped for him.

"Late?" he just nodded and she nodded back, smirking again before jerking her head to the passenger side of her car. "Hop in Picasso." Slowly Tim made his way around the car to the passenger's side. This was probably a bad idea he thought to himself, but then grabbed the handle and decided that he was an 18 year old male and he was allowed to have hormones. Screw what anyone else thought.

He slid quickly into the lowered, leather seat, dropping his backpack on the floor. Janet quickly bolted away, music blaring, bass thumping through the car.

_S-s-s-swaggerific…..S-s-s-swaggerific…..S-s-s-swaggerific….S-s-s-swaggerific…_

_How can you call it a lifestyle, when you don't live your life in style?_

"I didn't think you were the football type of girl Janet." Tim said, watching her carefully from the corner of his eye, intent to not turn the conversation into an all out staring contest. He wasn't a creep, he was just infatuated. She smirked at him before taking the corner slightly too fast (at which point Tim wondered why he had decided to get into the car after all).

"I'm not Matthews. I'm a man type of girl. And there are going to be many men there tonight, all hyped up from their certain win and slightly drunk on celebratory alcohol. Sounds like my scene if you ask me." Tim felt slightly sick at this and grimaced, an action that did not go unnoticed by Janet, whose smirk deepened.

_I rock hellz bellz with my new Chanel_

_  
You rock fake nails, Chanel with 2 l's_

"I didn't think you were the football type of guy Matthews. Unless we're more alike then I thought…" Tim scowled at her and she giggled maliciously. Suddenly Tim was pretty sure he remembered why his friends would have been appalled if he had ever told them he had been interested in Janet in the first place.

_This is not a popularity contest_

_  
When god made me he made a new commandment!_

"You haven't changed a bit from the day I first met you Janet." Tim said angrily, still stinging a little from her malicious insinuations. It was Janet's turn to grimace and he frowned over at him in annoyance.

"Well thank you Matthews, it is a pleasure to know that I still resemble my 9 year old self." Tim rolled his eyes at her mock hurt, sarcastic tone and began sincerely wishing he had walked the rest of the way.

"I meant, Perlstein, that you are still just as obnoxious, malicious and lonely as we were when we were children" Although he couldn't tell because of the glasses, he was sure her eyes were flashing, judging by the way her knuckles hardened on the steering wheel.

"Obnoxious, I will give you, even malicious, but lonely? Please Matthews, have you seen the number of people that surround me on a daily basis? I am far from lonely. You're the one who shuts yourself away from your friends to live vicariously through sketches of things you can't have!" Tim glared at her as she scoffed and gestured flippantly to his backpack.

"Just because you have a bunch of people around you all the time Janet doesn't mean that you aren't lonely. You have no real friends, because you've never been able to make any because you're a bitch and no one actually likes you!" Neither of them said anything afterwards, or looked at each other. The car was silent save for the music blaring.

_Fly fly fly (And he said...)_

_  
Thou shalt be fly fly fly (Til the end...)_

_  
Until the day you die die die_

_  
I'm fly! lemme testify! _

_  
Not a habit, I'm just gifted_

_  
Lord please keep me swaggeriffic_

"You're right" she said suddenly, just as Tim was opening his mouth to apologize (he never did like being mean to girls, no matter who they were). He stared at her now, mouth agape and she looked over at him and smiled gently (Tim was suddenly struck with ideas for new sketches).

"I don't mean to be a bitch you know, but it starts off as a joke that no one seems to get and then I'm just defending myself from other people who take offense. I mean sure, I'm not the nicest person out there and I certainly do take a certain enjoyment out of making other people intimidated, like Phoebe for instance, but I do genuinely want people to like me for who I am and not how much money I have" she looked at him in an almost apologetic manner and Tim realized that he was stuck.

Janet was too beautiful, too lethal and too gentle at all the same time. A giant anomaly that he could never hope to capture in one picture, but would probably spend his whole life trying anyways. He shook his head slowly before smiling slightly at her, to which she smirked.

"You are one of a kind Perlstein" he said slowly. She laughed and her smirk deepened.

"Janet, Matthews. I want you to call me Janet." This time he rolled his eyes and realized if he wanted to get anywhere with Janet, ever, he was going to have to push back just as hard as she did. And if she thought he was a push over like those other guys she dated, she had another thing coming. He could teach her, if it was the last thing he did.

"It's Tim, Perlstein. Write it down, remember it, and use it." She raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Fine….Tim." Tim grinned inwardly in satisfaction and turned to look out the window, realizing they were pulling up to the school.

"So how are you planning on getting a seat this late into the game?" Janet asked politely (surprise, surprise Tim thought).

"I'm hoping that Phoebe remembered to save me a seat. And no mean comments about Phoebe because she probably saved me two, which means you can sit with me." He was being bold and he knew it. She might slap him, but he was willing to take that chance if it meant taming the red headed beauty.

"Who says I want to sit with you and your dumb friends anyways? Who says I don't have other friends I want to sit with who are saving me a seat?" She questioned him somewhat angrily, but he noticed she hadn't slapped him and she seemed to be amused under everything else. Tim just looked at her in expectance and she flushed – actually flushed! – (although that could have been a trick of the light) and she didn't say anything again.

"You staying for the party afterwards I assume?" Tim questioned Janet while she was searching for a parking spot, to which she only nodded.

"You too I assume, since Ramone isn't one to give up on the party of the century and Tennelli is expected to be the quarterback of honour."

"Hey, I don't always just follow along with the rest of the gang, I can do things on my own you know. If the party's lame, I don't think I'll be staying" but Janet shot him a knowing smirk and he rolled his eyes again in exasperation "-but, I will probably be staying to support Ralphie." She laughed at him but he let her. It didn't sound like a malicious laugh anyways, so it couldn't hurt. At least she thought something he did was funny. They quietly parked her car and he took the liberty of leaving his backpack in the car, which Janet noticed but didn't comment on.

They walked across the parking lot close together, hands brushing but he didn't move to grab her hand nor did she so he let the tension hang between them. It was more exciting this way anyways. They got to the roaring stadium and he led the way to where he knew his friends would be located. He saw them within in minutes and didn't bother to check behind him to see if Janet was still following him, because he subconsciously knew she was.

Wanda and Carlos already had alcohol poorly hidden in water bottles; they were both sporting the Walkerville butterfly hats on their heads and giant foam fingers and were cheering loudly at the end of the line. DA and Keesha were seated together on the other side of Carlos and Wanda looking they were trying to surreptitiously to grab the water bottles from their friends. Next to DA was Phoebe with a red butterfly painted on one cheek and number 17 on the other (Ralphie's number that had obviously been painted by Ralphie himself, judging from the blush still staining Phoebe's cheeks). She was focused so intently on the field she didn't notice a sullen Arnold sitting beside her, looking for all the world like he would rather be taking ballet lessons then sitting there.

Tim didn't let his heart fall at the sight of only one seat left; he did however let it drop at the sight that the one seat left was right next to Arnold. This could potentially get awkward. At that moment Arnold looked up and saw them – or at least Tim presumed he saw both of them, judging from the way his eyes widened slightly.

"Janet? What are you doing here?" he questioned suspiciously. Phoebe instantly tensed next to him, so Tim grinned soothingly at her.

"Thanks for saving us a seat Phoebe" he said gently and she just nodded, green eyes wide. DA and Keesha looked over and frowned but otherwise didn't say anything. Tim then made eye contact with the tipsy Carlos, who winked at him and Wanda, who gave him a lecherous grin and a thumbs up with her foam finger. Tim grinned and sat next to Arnold before turning to Janet, who had yet to reply to her cousin's question.

"Only one seat Janet." He left it at that, leaving the conclusions up to her. She smirked and pushed her Chanel glasses up before taking a dignified seat on his lap amidst Arnold's choking beside them.

"What cous? It's not as if you've never had a girl sit in your lap before" She raised an eyebrow as Wanda leaned across the seats (and her friends, much to their annoyance) and poked Arnold's thigh.

"Yeah Arn, remember last night, I'm pretty sure I was doing more then sitting in your-"

"Wanda!" They all cried out at the same time, as Arnold sunk down, embarrassed, in his seat while Phoebe, Carlos and DA all gave him the same shocked look and Keesha gagged.

"DUDE! I'm so totally telling Ralphie!" Carlos said, trying to high five Arnold after getting over his initial shock. When Arnold refused to respond, Carlos shrugged and turned to high five Wanda instead, who leaped up eagerly at the chance.

Tim felt Janet shaking with laughter in his lap and grinned up at her. She smirked down at him and leaned in close.

"Who knows Tim, I might just be doing more then sitting in your lap by the end of the night too, if you're lucky." Arnold half choked, half-gagged beside them as Tim wrapped his arms around Janet and grinned victoriously. Phoebe consolingly rubbed her hand on Arnold's back as he slumped forward in his seat, mumbling about the whole world being against him.

Tim wasn't really sure if anything would happen with Janet by the end of the night, and that was okay with him. He had somehow managed to grab this enchanting temptress' interest and he was planning on holding it for as long as he could. Maybe his senior year wouldn't be nearly as exasperating as he thought it would be. He hadn't felt this flustered in a long time and all he could think of was he'd somehow been Frizzled, without even knowing it!


	3. Dirty Little Secret

_A/N: Alright, so this is the third installment of the Football Games fic. I really didn't know if this one was going to come out the way I wanted it to, but I think I really like it. It took a while to get out, but it's here now and that's all that matters right? I've got one (maybe two) more to go…the last one is, by process of elimination going to be concerning Keesha, Carlos and Dorthy Ann. Ooooo a love triangle…I still don't have too many ideas yet, but I will try and finish this entire thing soon. I promise._

_As always, I do not own the Magic School Bus, although I sincerely wish I did. _

Arnold sighed as he forlornly picked confetti out of his hair in the boy's washroom. He had made sure to pick the furthest washroom from the football field, so he wouldn't have to deal with any pre-drunk high school kids. No one else was even in the room, and he appreciated the silence.

Arnold hated football games. Of that much he was certain. It always reminded him of how painfully scrawny he was. Sure he had muscles, and sure, he worked out (every now and then) but he had nowhere near the...physique of the footballers. And the confetti always got stuck in his hair.

Arnold had developed into a tall, scrawny 17 year old boy. He was in his senior year and had to admit to himself that not a whole lot had changed since his third grade adventures. Keesha, resident shrink, often told him that it was because he was afraid of change. Arnold wasn't too willing to admit that to Keesha, but he certainly never disagreed.

He still had the same curly strawberry blonde hair, stormy grey eyes (although they were now fashionably paired behind a set of black, rectangular glasses) and pale, freckled skin. He wore polo's and khakis, hush puppies and matching socks. For all intents and purposes, Arnold looked the part of the nerdy swimmer, which he figured was a good thing because that made him definable, and being definable meant that you didn't draw unnecessary attention to yourself and by not drawing unnecessary attention to yourself, you could slip under the high school radar and go through the motions of every day monotony. And Arnold loved monotony.

Or at least he said he did.

Ms. Frizzles' field trips had been too adventurous, too nail-biting, too near disasters for Arnold. So he had been happy when he had finally graduated third grade and gone on to have normal teachers, old teachers, bland teachers. He saw the light fade from the others just a little bit every year when met by another obtusely normal teacher, but Arnold felt elated. Well...mostly.

Maybe he missed the rush of flying just a little bit. And trekking along with the dinosaurs really hadn't been that bad after all. And being baked into a cake had been pretty fun...

But that would be his dirty little secret.

"Hey there lova' boy" he heard the seductive voice coo from the doorway. Unfortunately, Arnold hadn't been expecting anyone in the farthest washroom from the school's current event, and had been using the hand dryer to blow the rest of the confetti out of his hair. He jumped at the voice and banged his head on hand dryer with a resulting *THUD*. He groaned, holding his head and sank to the floor, with his back against the wall. He felt the laughter coming before he even heard it and he grew angry with his surprise visitor.

"Be quiet Wanda" he said crossly (he could never tell a girl to shut up, even if he wanted to and even if Wanda sometimes didn't count as one of the girls). Wanda didn't even try to suppress her laughter as she sank down on the floor beside him, playing with the edges of her torn jean shorts (which were much too short – not that Arnold was complaining) and her white tank top underneath a red plaid, long sleeved fleece shirt. They sat in silence for a while and Arnold stared at her brown leather cowboy boots to avoid looking at her face. Gradually Wanda's laughter died down and she put her head on his shoulder. Arnold tensed, as he usually did when she was like this. THIS referred to a completely new aspect to their relationship that had developed a few weeks ago while they were studying for trig at his house. Sure Arnold has always thought Wanda was cute…okay smoking hot actually, but he really never thought anything would come of it. Kind of like the Phoebe situation…He grimaced at that and felt Wanda peering up at him.

"What?" she asked loudly, breaking the nice silence that had descended. Arnold rolled his eyes and scooted away from her.

"Nothing" he replied sullenly and Wanda raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him.

"Don't you nothing me, Mister, I think I know you a little too well to be fooled like that" he just rolled his eyes again and looked the other way.

"Nothing" he insisted and suddenly Wanda was standing up, trying to get in his face.

"Whatever Arnold, I know you're upset about something! You didn't sit next to me in the game and then you completely avoided even looking at me after Tim and Janet got there! So you can go on pretending that nothing's wrong, or we can work this out!" she yelled at him, black hair flying around her face, her dark eyes boring into him. He looked away.

"Are you upset about last night? Did I say something wrong? I know I couldn't have done anything wrong, because you were conveying pretty loudly that everything was good…" she trailed off with a lecherous grin on her face and Arnold felt the dam break inside his chest. He staggered to his feet and Wanda took a step back in surprise.

"THIS is what bothers me Wanda! You can talk and talk all this shit about us fooling around, but you never actually acknowledge what is going on here!" Arnold had never yelled at a girl in his entire life (except maybe Janet and she didn't count) and Wanda's wide eyes showed her surprise at his outburst. He deflated slightly. That had not made him feel nearly as good as he had imagined. He slid back down to the floor, putting his head in his hands in defeat.

"I just…don't want to be your dirty little secret Wanda" he mumbled into his hands. There was silence throughout the washroom and Arnold figured Wanda had fled to call the police to tell them her friend had turned into a crazy person. He felt a sudden weight at his side as Wanda slid down the wall and sat next to him.

"Maybe," she whispered softly, "Maybe I wasn't sure what _you_ wanted. I'm not exactly the type of girl someone like you would bring home to your family" she smiled weakly at him and Arnold stared at the vulnerable mess she had become. Wanda didn't get like this often. Only when she was extremely apologetic and scared of losing someone.

"My parents love you" he said incredulously and she gave another sad smile.

"As your friend Arnold. Not as a potential daughter-in-law" Arnold just stared at Wanda for a long, long time. Daughter-in-Law? Wanda was serious about this? Neither spoke for a while, just looked at each other.

"I" Arnold started, then hesitated before looking at Wanda "I really, really enjoyed Ms. Frizzle's field trips" he finally said, and stared at Wanda. She looked at him with big eyes and blinked a few times before smiling at him.

"I have had a crush on you since the 6th grade" Wanda said shyly and Arnold blushed.

"I really, really don't want to take over my parent's company when I'm older, even though it's expected of me as the only child" he admitted

"I want to dance, even though my Mother thinks it's impractical and stupid" she smiled sadly again and he impulsively grabbed her hand.

"I really, really like you Wanda. I don't care what my parents think because the fact that I love you should be enough for them. And if it's not, I don't care. I want this to be something real, I want to give us a chance" he looked at her imploringly and she smiled gently.

"I really, really like you Arnold. I do care what your parents think, but I am going to try really, really hard to show them that I'm serious about you. It's only ever been about you Arnold. All this time, it's only been about you. I will be polite and well-mannered in front of your parents at all costs…we can be dirty and nasty when its just the two of us together" she smirked and winked at him, causing him to blush all over again like a little school girl.

"They love you Wanda, and they will love you because I do too" he leaned down and placed a brief kiss on her lips. She pulled away and looked at him with a concerned look on her face.

"So we're good?" she questioned seriously. Arnold just grinned in response.

"We're good." He repeated and Wanda laughed.

"Good. I was afraid we were going to have to talk some more about our feelings and all that crap" she said with a wink. Arnold just rolled his eyes at the petite Asian girl and put his arm around her shoulders casually.

"No Wanda, I won't make you talk about your feelings anymore" he said with a fond smile and a roll of his eyes. "But you know….I was thinking…we are all alone on the far end of the school…It's not likely anyone's going to leave the party to come looking for us, so I'd say we have a fair amount of time to ourselves…" he trailed off and sent Wanda a lecherous grin, which surprised her for about a second before she grinned mischievously back and got to her feet, dragging a laughing Arnold to one of the stalls.

"Why Mr. Arnold Matthew Perlstein, I do believe that's the best thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth in a long time"

And that was the last thing that came out of Wanda's mouth for a long time.

And Arnold may have hated football games and confetti, but he had never been so happy for an empty washroom in his entire life. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't stayed home today.


	4. Threesome

_A/N: This is the long-time coming Carlos/ Keesha/ DA chapter, which while it didn't turn out exactly as I pictured, I kind of like anyways. I hope you all like it…sorry for anyone out there looking for a specific couple (I know there's lots of DA/Carlos fans out there…)_

Carlos laughed loudly and stumbled – quite drunkenly – to his Camero. The sun was about to come up and the celebration was pretty much done. People were walking home drunk or demanding lifts off their designated drivers. Carlos lifted a hand to several of the football boys he passed – most of whom looked a little worse for wear, usually supported by other buddies or their girlfriends. The fires in the trash cans smoldered with the early morning dew and luckily, the rest of the evidence of their party was being cleaned up by several of the more responsible students and the football player wannabes (also mostly drunk out of their minds). Looking up, Carlos avoided a prone body on the ground and saw his group of friends getting their stuff together by his car.

"What's brown and blue and polka-dotted all over?" Carlos yelled to the diminishing crowd. His friends didn't even look up, used to his antics already.

"What?" someone yelled back as everyone turned to him. Grinning and reaching into his pocket he pulled out a pair of panties.

"Flo's panties!" he yelled waving them around, before the Queen Bee herself marched up and grabbed them from him in embarrassment. Instead of slapping him, she turned to walk away before turning around and winking at him. He winked back and she giggled, scurrying away to her group of cheerleading friends.

"CARLOS" everyone around him groaned while rolling their eyes, expecting little less from the school's prankster. Laughing he turned to his friends to see them shaking each other's hands. Or at least Ralphie was shaking Tim's hand.

"What is this?! Ya leavin' already?" Carlos barked as he neared the blue vehicle. Ralphie looked up and gave his friend a dopey looking grin. Carlos attributed this to either the fact that the football quarterback had consumed too much alcohol or that fact that his thick arm had snagged the tall, lithe beauty that was Pheobe Terese. Granted, when they had been children Phoebe had had quite the lanky look, but she had blossomed into a beautiful woman in her own right. If only Carlos had managed to jump in there before Ralphie…Instead he threw a lecherous grin and wink at Phoebe who managed to blush, giggle and bury her face in Ralphie's chest. Ralphie's look quickly soured and he glared at his friend.

Carlos almost heard DA and Keesha rolling their eyes before he saw it. He also knew the hand was on its way 10 seconds before it hit him. *Smack*

"Don't embarrass Phoebe" Keesha said firmly, taking a hold of his ear tightly. Carlos yelped slightly, but remained grinning.

"But Keesha, it's too easy" Carlos whined at the girl. DA stood beside her with her hands firmly planted on her hips in disapproval.

"According to my research," she started, "Phoebe can take care of herself and you probably shouldn't be making fun of her. She takes kickboxing you know."

Phoebe looked up indignantly and stuck her tongue out at the Hispanic boy.

"Yeah Carlos" Phoebe sniffed in mock offense. Ralphie tightened his hold on her waist and she smiled up at him adoringly.

"Good one Terese" Janet drawled from her spot on the hood of her car with Tim. Tim leveled a hard look at the fiery red head and she managed to force out a smile in Phoebe's direction. Phoebe just stared wide-eyed at her frenemy and gave a strained smile in return. Tim grinned and laced his fingertips with Janet's, to which she smiled coyly and shifted closer to him. Carlos suppressed another internal groan. If only he had the same appeal as his quiet, artistic friend. Maybe then Janet would have given him the time of day…or night…

Seeing his smoldering look in Janet's direction, DA kicked Carlos in the shin. *Thud* Cursing, Carlos jumped up and down, rubbing his shin while everyone else laughed. Suddenly, Arnold and Wanda appeared from the dark bushes to the right, giggling and tripping over each other. Janet rolled her eyes at the two fiends while Ralphie snickered into Phoebe's hair.

"What's up guys" Wanda tried to ask casually, but ended up failing miserably considering the branches sticking out of her bird's nest of hair and the crinkles in her and Arnold's clothing. Everyone just nodded in amusement while Arnold looked away in embarrassment. Wanda just grinned and leaned back to pinch his butt when he wasn't looking.

"I got me some fine ass" Wanda concluded cheekily while Arnold jumped and blushed and everyone shared another laugh (except Janet, who looked slightly nauseous). Carlos sighed aloud. If only he had someone as adventurous and kinky as Wanda, imagine what his life would be like…

Seeing his far off expression, both DA and Keesha rolled their eyes at each other and decided to combine their forces this time. *Whack* Groaning, Carlos doubled over as the girls continued to shake their heads and everyone else tried to suppress their laughter.

"Ok, ok enough already!" Carlos yelled, sticking his hands up in surrender. "No more abuse! I'm ready to go home!" Agreeing, everyone waved goodbye and stumbled sleepily and drunkenly to their rides. Luckily, Tim hadn't drank anything and Janet was more then willing to let him drive her car, seeing as how he would have to sleep at her place until she sobered up enough to drive him home. Arnold and Wanda piled into the back of Janet's car as she slid seductively into the passenger seat, tossing her keys at Tim.

Ralphie declared that he could not allow Phoebe to walk home unprotected and they waved goodbye as they stumbled into the early morning light together. Carlos figured it wouldn't take long before they broke their attention away from each other long enough to realize they were headed in the wrong direction. Shaking his head, he turned to the last two girls left: Keesha and DA.

Keesha was standing with her arms crossed across her chest and her hip jutted out to the side. A small smile around her mouth indicated that she was not as irritated as she seemed. Her wavy brown hair was pulled to the side in a low ponytail and she had pinned ribbon the colours of the football team to be intermingled in her hair. Her eyelashes were coated in many layers of mascara, emphasizing their natural length and thickness. She was wearing a dark chocolate, satin jacket that was belted with a small, rhinestone studded belt at the waist and a pair of dark brown short shorts with gold, pointy toed kitten heels. Keesha was exceptionally curvy and very attractive. Plus, Keesha was friendly with just about everyone and offered sound advice for a friend in need. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and Carlos really admired her for that. She was fiercely loyal and to her, a promise was a promise; a secret was a secret.

DA stood next to her, hands on her hips, lips pursed, but her bright blue eyes danced in amusement. She had french-braided some of her hair to act as a headband for her side-swept bangs, and the rest of her golden blonde hair was loose around her shoulders. She was wearing a bright blue, scoop necked, cap sleeved baby doll dress with sheer nylons and a pair of simple black flats. DA was simple and pretty and an all around, All-American girl. Carlos could certainly appreciate that, what with the blonde hair and blue eyes, DA turned heads wherever she went, whether she realized it or not. DA may come off as snobby to most people, but her closest friends knew she wasn't really like that. She was reserved and intelligent and didn't waste her time on people who she thought weren't good for her. She was always willing to help her friends understand things, but liked that they knew better then to leave her with her books all the time, and Carlos had a good time hanging out with DA, admiring her intelligence and her no-nonsense attitude.

And here Carlos got the opportunity to head home with easily two of the most gorgeous young women in the entire high school. So, once faced with them, why wasn't the opportunity as exciting as it should be?

"All right Carlos, we've had enough of your antics for one night, hop in the back" Keesha smiled indulgently at him the first time all night, taking his keys in her hands. As she walked around to the driver's side, DA grabbed his upper arm and led him to the passenger side and smiled shyly at him.

"Thanks for bringing me out tonight Carlos" she said quietly as he crawled into the back.

Ah, right. Now he remembered.

He didn't know when it started, but somewhere along the line, DA and Keesha had started competing for his attention. At first, he had had a blast. Along with making all the other available males in the school insanely jealous, the two girls had certainly stroked his ego. After a while, however, it became quickly apparent that this was not going to fade away as he thought it would have. And what was worse: he couldn't make up his mind between the two.

To him, he was young, he had all the time to fool around and make stupid decisions and have fun; DA and Keesha, all their positive aspects aside, wanted something more serious then he was willing to invest in. He thought maybe he could explain this subtly and indirectly to them, but they didn't want to seem to listen, instead continuing to moon over him, even if it was just usually in private. He was at a complete loss as to where to move on from here, but was quickly realizing that it had to end, and soon. For his sanity, if for no one else.

The two girls chatted idly in the front, occasionally yawning widely while Carlos stayed silent in the backseat. Maybe, if he didn't say anything, he wouldn't be noticed and no one would say anything to him. Suddenly, Keesha's brown eyes met his in the rear view mirror. No such luck.

"So, did you enjoy yourself tonight Carlos?" Keesha asked teasingly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw DA look at her friend sourly. Oh yeah, this needed to stop.

"Yeah, I had a great time" Carlos said carefully, trying to avoid giving more time to one girl then the other, and to avoid the cat fight that might erupt.

"Good, you deserve it" DA said firmly, smiling at him. In the rear mirror he could see Keesha rolling her eyes and gulped slightly, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Yeah" was all he managed to get out before the rest of the ride descended into tense silence. They pulled up to DA's house quietly before Carlos decided he had better solve this quickly.

"Look, girls" he said finally, causing them both to turn towards him. On the spot, Carlos realized that this would be a lot harder then he had anticipated.

"Look," he repeated, looking resolutely straight ahead. "I know what's been going on between you two…or rather the three of us" DA and Keesha shared a surprised look before looking away from each other guiltily.

"Oh bad, oh bad, oh bad, bad, bad" he heard Keesha mutter to herself quietly.

It made Carlos feel slightly guilty, realizing he should have done something about this much sooner.

"And I'm not saying I'm not flattered. Because I am. Really. You are both really pretty girls and you're really sweet, I just…" he trailed off slightly and took in their disappointed looks. Great, more guilt.

"I can't make a decision right now. I'm not in the right frame of mind to have a serious relationship, and deny all you want, both of you know that's what you're looking for. I'm not there yet. And to be honest, I don't plan to be for a while. I'm sorry about this…" he trailed off, not really sure what else needed to be said. DA was the first to recover, and smiled tightly at him.

"It's okay Carlos, I wasn't really that into you anyways. If you had picked Keesha it would have been fine. I can move on no problem now that I know" It hurt Carlos' heart a little to see the pain and disappointment he had put in her eyes, proving her actual feelings were contrary to her words. She gave another tight smile and slipped out the door, practically running into her house. Keesha sat in silence, watching DA's house for a minute while Carlos carefully slid into the front seat. Slowly, she pulled out of her friend's driveway and continued the few blocks over to Carlos' house. Luckily Keesha only lived down the street, so she could just walk home. As she pulled into Carlos' driveway he let out an internal sigh, realizing he had quite possibly, made things all that more awkward between them.

"That was a really mature thing to do Carlos" Keesha said quietly, staring up at his house. He just nodded, sure that if he were to say something he would alter their friendship even more.

"I won't say I'm not disappointed" she admitted softly. "But I'm glad you finally said something. I think DA and I would have ripped each other apart. You know how competitive we get" they shared a look and both of them smiled. Carlos felt immensely relieved. Maybe he hadn't destroyed _all_ his friendships.

"And don't worry about DA. She'll come around once she has time to process it all and Phoebe translates her emotions into regular DA speak. Don't worry too much about her, it's a girl thing" she smiled at him and he wasn't sure if she meant fixing DA was a girl thing, or DA being upset was a girl thing, but he was glad none the less for the reassurance.

"Thanks Keesh'. You're a good friend" Keesha just grinned and got out of the car.

"Just don't forget that Ramon" she teased before heading back down the driveway. Thinking seriously for a few moments, Carlos stuck his head out of the car to yell at her retreating figure.

"Hey Keesha! Did you and DA ever consider a threesome?" Keesha didn't even bother to turn around while flipping him the bird and continuing her way down the street. Carlos laughed and leaned his head against the headrest. That was one more problem solved by the intelligent and handsome Carlos Ramon. Disaster averted. While congratulating himself, he slowly fell asleep in the seat, where he was woken several hours later by his furious mother.

Unfortunately, not all disasters can be averted.


	5. Monday

_A/N: The last chapter for this series. FINALLY. Haha, I loved it and I hope all of you did too! Please don't forget to leave a review, I love hearing your opinion on these things! Thanks everyone!_

Wanda sighed forlornly. She really hated Mondays. Really, really. She perked up at the sight of a top of carrot-coloured hair bobbing through the hallways. However, she really like boys named Arnold. Really, really. Grinning slyly she raced to where his hair was glaring at her from his locker.

"Heya Sex-Muffin" she greeted him coyly, her hand coming up to play with the beautiful locket he had bought her over the weekend. He was such a sweetheart….and good in bed to boot! He started and looked down at her with an indulgent smile.

"Morning Wanda" he greeted, taking out his books for first period and closing the door. She pouted up at him in mock annoyance as they made their way to the tall oak tree in the yard outside that the gang always met.

"Why can't I have cute nickname? I give you tons of cute nicknames!"

"Stud-Muffin, Sex-Muffin, and My Personal Dildo do not count as 'cute' nicknames Wanda" Arnold explained tiredly. She pouted more and he ignored her as they neared the tree and saw that Ralphie, Phoebe, Tim, Janet, Carlos and Keesha were already there.

"Fine" Arnold caved before they got to their friends and Wanda made a big scene, as she was known to do. "How about…Pooh-bear? Or…Sweetheart? Or…My Princess? Or…" he trailed off at her incredulous look and stopped short. "What?" he demanded as she turned to face him.

"If you didn't know any cute nicknames Arn, you could have just said you weren't fluent" Wanda rolled her eyes and turned around to keep walking. "Honestly…Sweetheart? Princess? Where do you get this stuff?" she laughed loudly as Arnold flushed and dragged his feet along behind her.

"It always works in the movies" he grumbled as they arrived at the tree.

"Hey cous'" Janet greeted snidely to which Arnold grimaced. "Asian" she greeted Wanda who flipped her the bird casually.

"Jew" she nodded back. Keesha, Ralphie and Carlos rolled their eyes at the typical exchange. Phoebe eyed both girls warily and turned her body more towards Ralphie. There was no way she was getting between them, because then they would consider her fair game. She'd been fair game before, and it was not a pretty place to be.

"How was the rest of everyone's weekend?" Wanda questioned, although she did not look like she cared in the slightest.

"It was great" Ralphie said sweetly, looking into Phoebe's eyes. She smiled back shyly as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear adoringly.

"Alright enough of that you two. If you're going to hanky panky, get it on and tell us about how wild and crazy and dirrrrty it was later" Wanda commanded. The two broke apart quickly with red faces, muttering something incomprehensible. Satisfied that the love fest was over, she turned to everyone else.

Tim shrugged casually and Janet smirked. Wanda just rolled her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I can guess what you two did all weekend, so don't bother telling me" Janet just smirked deeper and Tim coloured lightly, although he didn't deny anything. Keesha had a rather perturbed look on her face and Carlos was snickering.

"What about you two?" Wanda demanded, considering that since they were single (to all public knowledge), they were a safe bet to have done something of interest.

"I helped my Grandmother clean the attic" Keesha said with a shrug, indicating that she really had done nothing of particular interest that weekend.

"I was grounded" Carlos said, lifting his eyebrows. Everyone in the group stared at him.

"You were what?" Wanda asked again, surprised that Carlos had gotten grounded – again. Third time this month, and they were only at the 15th.

"Grounded" Carlos repeated, looking slightly irritated.

"Why?" Ralphie asked in amazement. Mrs. Ramon was not a woman to mess with, that was for sure.

"Slept in the car and smelled like beer. Oh yeah, and then I puked in the driveway" Phoebe wrinkled her nose delicately and Arnold and Keesha grimaced. Ralphie, Tim and Janet just shook their heads while Wanda let out a low whistle.

"Sucky" she breathed out. "High five man!" Loudly and obnoxiously the two friends high fived for Carlos's apparent terrible luck and hangover.

"Where's DA?" Tim questioned, missing the look Carlos and Keesha shared.

"Don't know man" Carlos said with an uneasy shrug that made Wanda and Ralphie eye him suspiciously.

"She should be here soon, I know she has a big project due today. I'm sure she's just running late" Phoebe said smiling innocently.

"I'm right here" they heard an annoyed voice behind them. Sure enough, there was DA standing with her backpack and multiple stacks of books that she was struggling to hold onto.

"I could use some help" she said sharply, to which Carlos darted forward tensely, taking two stacks of books in his arms.

"Thanks Carlos" DA said, smiling genuinely at her long-time friend. Carlos relaxed instantly and grinned back.

"No problemo DA" he said, infinitely happy that all things were well between the two. Keesha smiled at both of them knowingly as the bell sounded, signalling the beginning of the school day.

"All right slackers" DA said smiling to the rest of the group, "Let's get going!"

Bickering, shoving, laughing and loving, the group of 9 made their way into the school for just another Monday.

"What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh! Get it?!"

"CARLOS"


End file.
